Searching the Internet can be difficult! There is SO MUCH OUT THERE!
A search engine (such as Google, Yahoo, Bing) looks for information on the Internet. Researches need to tell the search engine what to look for. That’s what KEYWORDS are for. KEYWORDS and searches must be PRECISE! This means we need to choose our KEYWORDS carefully.
Search engines crawl around the Internet. There are millions of websites for these search tools to look through, and each search engine sorts through what it “knows” and lists the sites it “thinks” we want. A search engine will get researches what they need ONLY if they search correctly. Remember:
Make sure to use accurate and precise terms.
Add more words to help narrow the search (make it more exact or specific)
A single word to search may "fetch" a million sites. Adding more words fetches fewer sites, and the sites will more likely be what the researcher wants.
Put words that belong together (phrases, a full name, or lyrics to a song) in quotation marks. Then the search engine looks for these words when they are grouped together.
Activities: How quickly can you hunt down information? (FETCH Activity, Common Sense Media)** 1) Choose your question. 2) Choose your search engine. 3) Search with:
one keyword
two keywords
three keywords
4) How many searches did it take before you found the answer to your question? 5) How many keywords did you have to use to get an answer? 6) Record the site where you found your information.
The Key to Keywords (DOGGY DATA Activity, Common Sense Media)** Take some time to get better at keyword searching by completing this activity.
Conducting Online Searches
Searching the Internet can be difficult! There is SO MUCH OUT THERE!
A search engine (such as Google, Yahoo, Bing) looks for information on the Internet. Researches need to tell the search engine what to look for. That’s what KEYWORDS are for. KEYWORDS and searches must be PRECISE! This means we need to choose our KEYWORDS carefully.
Search engines crawl around the Internet. There are millions of websites for these search tools to look through, and each search engine sorts through what it “knows” and lists the sites it “thinks” we want. A search engine will get researches what they need ONLY if they search correctly. Remember:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVjX8JU3Lko#t=12
Activities:
How quickly can you hunt down information? (FETCH Activity, Common Sense Media)**
1) Choose your question.
2) Choose your search engine.
3) Search with:
- one keyword
- two keywords
- three keywords
4) How many searches did it take before you found the answer to your question?5) How many keywords did you have to use to get an answer?
6) Record the site where you found your information.
The Key to Keywords (DOGGY DATA Activity, Common Sense Media)**
Take some time to get better at keyword searching by completing this activity.
Sources:
"Choosing and Using Keywords." //YouTube//. YouTube, n.d. Web. 2 July 2014.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVjX8JU3Lko>.
**"The Key to Keywords (3-5)." Reviews & Age Ratings. Common Sense Media, Inc., n.d. Web. 2 July 2014. <https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/lesson/the-key-to-keywords-3-5>.